SO FAR AWAY

When I hear the phrase, 'so far away,' I am reminded of the song by the same title, written by Carole King. According to Wikipedia..."The lyrics express longing for a lover who is far away. But AllMusic critic Bill Janovitz notes that while the lyrics start by focusing on the physical distance between the lovers, the lyrics use that as a jumping-off point to explore emotional distance between lovers as well."

I think that these lyrics can easily be applied to not only lovers...though clearly that's the intent, but in a sense, they also describe what happens in a family when someone leaves whether by choice or circumstance. These words can easily be used to tell the story of a family's migration to make a better life, as well as the loneliness and maybe even a little desperation of those left behind.....

  So far away

Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore

It would be so fine to see your face at my door 

Doesn't help to know you're just time away

Long ago I reached for you and there you stood
Holding you again could only do me good
Oh I wish I could
But you're so far away

One more song about moving along the highway
Can't say much of anything that's new
If I could only work this life out my way
I'd rather spend it being close to you

But you're so far away....

I can imagine that there was a similar lament made by many of the women in my family left behind in Italy with their children... while the men were off to America, seeking (and hoping to find) work. I'm certain my great-grandmothers, Elisabetta Poppa and Antonia DiFoggio, as well as my grandmother, Theresa Poppa all knew and recognized the necessity... but I doubt that having that knowledge lessened the fear and anxiety that these brave women endured.

When their time came to leave the only home they had ever known to this point, for an unfamiliar country... where they would somehow have to adapt to a new way of life, when they didn't speak or understand the language or… knew few if any people living there...it must have been a lonely, frightening and yet somehow an exciting time for them. Naturally, they would miss their friends and any family left behind... along with a way of life that was comforting and safe. The song's lyrics seem to capture that sentiment...

Traveling around sure gets me down and lonely
Nothing else to do but close my mind
I sure hope the road don't come to own me
There's so many dreams I've yet to find

But you're so far away
Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn't help to know you're so far away.

Many other brave women in my family experienced the same thing...this post, however, will concentrate on three of these special ladies.

ELISABETTA BRANCA

Elisabetta Poppa nee Branca

My paternal great-grandmother, Elisabetta Branca was born in Orsara di Puglia, Foggia, Italy, in November 1864. Her father, Antonio was 34 and her mother, Maria Michele Paladino was 38. She and my paternal great-grandfather, Fedele Poppa married in Orsara in 1882. Elisabetta was 18 and Fedele was 26. She would give birth to five children within the first 17 of  their 43 years of marriage.

In 1906 Elisabetta was 42, when her husband Fedele left for America. She remained at home attending to their three youngest children all between the ages of ten and four. Their eldest son, Leonardo was married with a family of his own, while fifteen-year-old Isidoro was off to America with his father. I have not yet found any of the ship manifests for Fedele and Isidoro's return voyage to Italy. An educated guess, however, would suggest that father and son were back home at some point in 1909 based on Isidoro's pending marriage in 1910.

On March 5,1913, Fedele, Elisabetta, and their three younger children, Marietta, Grazia (Grace) and Agostino set sail on the SS Venetia. They arrived in the United States on March 21. Eventually, the entire family would settle in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Elisabetta would outlive her husband by 14 years and the loss of her son, Isidoro by 16. She would die on November 24, 1939, from pneumonia following a fractured femur at the age of 75.

ANTONIA BORRELLI

Antonia DiFoggia nee Borrelli abt 1943

My other paternal great-grandmother, Antonia Borrelli was born in Orsara di Puglia, Foggia, Italy, on June 13, 1862. Her father, Nicola was 27 and her mother, Maria Acquaviva was 22. She and my paternal great-grandfather, Leonardo DiFoggio married in their hometown in 1885. Antonia was 23 and Leonardo was 25. During their 61-year marriage, there were five children born to them between 1886 and 1904... Theresa (1886), Michael (1888), Rocco (1893), Lucy (1895) and Grace (1904).

In 1899 Antonia was 37, when Leonardo went to America for the first time. She remained at home to raise their four children. The eldest was my paternal grandmother, Theresa...age 13 at that time and the youngest child... great-aunt, Lucy was four. I have not found any passenger lists or ship manifests that mark Leonardo's return to Italy. However, the birth of his daughter Grace places him in Orsara, probably between 1902 and 1903. I have not been able to determine whether he went back to the United States prior to his permanent emigration. 

In 1920, Leonardo, Antonia and their 16-year-old daughter Grace left Italy for America on the SS Taormina. They would join the rest of their family, Theresa, Michele (Michael), Rocco and Lucy...all married with families of their own at this point and eventually settle down in Chicago, Illinois.

Antonia predeceased her husband by 3 years. She died on December 28,1946 at the age of 84 from acute dilatation of the heart.

THERESA DIFOGGIO

Theresa Poppa nee DeFoggia abt 1925

My paternal grandmother,Theresa DiFoggio was born in Orsara di Puglia, Foggia, Italy, on November 29, 1886. Her father, Leonardo was 26 and her mother, Antonia was 24. She married my paternal grandfather, Isidoro Poppa in Orsara on July 18,1910.Theresa was 23 and Isidoro was 19. They would have eight children during their 12-year marriage. 

In January 1911 Theresa was 24...married less than a year and pregnant with their first child. Isidoro made his second trip back to the United States during her pregnancy, this time accompanied by his 18-year-old brother-in-law, Rocco DiFoggio. Both young men maintained hopes they would find work with the railroad in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In 1912 or 1913, depending on what document you read... Isidoro, Theresa and their two-year-old son, Fedele would board the SS Sant' Anna for America. They would temporarily live in New Rochelle, New York. While there, Theresa would give birth to a daughter, Elizabeth sometime between 1912 and 1913. Sadly, the tiny infant would die within that same year. Eventually, there would be six more children...Antoinette (1914), Rocco (1916), Leonard (1918), Elizabeth (1920), Agostino (1922) and Mary (1923). Like her older sister, Elizabeth...Mary would not survive infancy and would pass on in late 1924.

Once settled in the United States, the family would split their time between Bridgeport, Connecticut and Chicago, Illinois. Isidoro died from tuberculosis on August 18,1923 at the age of 32 in Bridgeport. Theresa and her children moved back to Chicago, shortly thereafter, to be nearer her parents and siblings. There would however, be many trips back to Bridgeport over the years for visits and family occasions. Theresa and the kids, lived on DeKalb Street (n/k/a Bowler) in what is known as the Tri-Taylor Street neighborhood of Chicago. Although no one knew it then...they were living just across the street and down the block from some other very special people in my life...my maternal grandparents, Angelo and Mary DeLio and more importantly...a young girl named Mary (or Marilyn as she preferred), who would one day become my mother.

As a single parent in the early 1920s, Theresa took care of her family, as best she could...earning a living through what was called piecework. As the name implies, piecework was work done by the piece and paid for at a set rate per unit. My maternal grandmother, Mary taught Theresa how to tat. Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace from a series of knots and loops and is made with the shuttle passing in, out and around a loop of thread wound around your hand to tie a simple set of knots, using cotton thread instead of yarn. Theresa honed the skills she acquired and  sold her hand-tatted lace for several pennies a yard. Every little bit helped and even the boys at ages twelve, 8 and 7 also got odd jobs to help make ends meet.

 

Examples of tatting...a pin cushion cover and tea cozy made by my grandmother, Theresa Poppa.  

Theresa would live another 35 years after Isidoro's passing. She died on December 19, 1958 at the age of 72 from a cerebral hemorrhage.


All of these ladies were kindhearted, loving women. All were the sole parent to their children at one time or another...created more out of necessity than design. They overcame more hardships than I could ever imagine going through. I never knew Elisabetta or Antonia. Memories of my grandmother, Theresa are fewer than I would like, as I was four-years-old when she died. I remember what she looked like and how tightly she would hug me, squeeze my hand... or wipe away the sticky, lemony juice, that ran down my chin from the Italian ices that my father would buy on visits to grandma's house. I also recall and cherish a handful of stories about her, too. I'm grateful for those memories, but I wish I had more of them. She is someone that will never be so far away from my heart.

My Family's Migration from Italy to the United States

CLOSE TO HOME

No matter what source you cite, the definition for the phrase 'Close to Home' boils down to how you are affected physically, personally or emotionally by something that you can strongly relate to. At one time or another, certain sights, sounds or smells have probably conjured up memories and/or mental images that have had a profound effect on your life, just as they have had on mine.

For example, every Friday my family would look forward to my grandmother coming over to spend the day with us. Of course, as much as we loved grandma and her visits...we knew that she would prepare a meal that makes my mouth water to this day, just thinking about it. A pot of spaghetti sauce (or 'gravy' as it was known in my family) simmering on the stove was a sight to behold. The steam rising...the sound of the gravy almost bubbling over the sides of the pot... a slight hiss when a droplet managed to escape and hit the burner on the stove... and of course, that delicious aroma permeating the kitchen as it wafted its way through the rest of the house. These are the sights, sounds and smells that always remind me of those Friday afternoons.

Italian "Gravy"

Grandma's gravy was a magnet for all the kids in my family. We would line up next to the stove, like crows on a power line...waiting patiently for grandma to give each of us a piece of Italian bread dipped in that heavenly sauce (excuse me...gravy).


When she wasn't looking, we would all try to sneak back in line to get another piece. Of course, she would always catch us and pretend to be angry. "Get away from my gravy!! I'm not gonna have enough for the macaroni!" (Note... all pasta excluding ravioli and lasagna was called macaroni in my family). In reality, there was probably enough food to feed a platoon of soldiers, but Grandma loved it when we asked for seconds of that 'homemade gravy bread' and let's face it...sometimes we did succeed in snatching some of it on our own.

On those same Fridays, the entire kitchen table would be covered in flour and dough, rolled out and ready to be turned into ravioli... perfect little pillows of pasta dough and filling. Sometimes, to switch things up...gnocchi would be the pasta of the day...small dumplings made with potato and flour. Traditionally, gnocchi are pressed between the thumb and the tines of a fork to make the characteristic indentations in the dumplings. My mother was good, but grandma was a pro at it and just used her thumbs and skipped the fork altogether.

Grandma Mary and me at the age of 3 in the backyard

My favorite memory is when I insisted on helping her make the gnocchi on one of those Friday visits. I was only 3 years old and fairly coordinated (well, as coordinated as any other 3-year-old), but not enough to roll a piece of dough off a fork, let alone off my thumb. But to keep me out of the way, grandma gave me a small piece of dough to practice with and a couple of hours later...I had made my first and only gnocchi dumpling. It wasn't perfect...it was misshapen and it was all gray from dropping it on the flour several times, but I made it... all by myself. As grandma was preparing to boil the gnocchi that she had made...I handed my little noodle over to her to throw in the pot with all the others. My grandmother didn't want to hurt my feelings, but there was no way that my filthy, little glob of gnocchi would make its way onto the plate of some unsuspecting family member during dinner. She told me she was going to put my noodle in its own 'special pot,' so that she could keep an eye on it. I'm sure the minute I walked out of the kitchen, that poor, little, dirty lump of dough was tossed directly into that 'special pot' also known as the trashcan. So much for my career as grandma's sous chef. I still remember that day, so many years later when my grandmother had patiently taught me how to make gnocchi.

Whenever I am in an Italian restaurant...a really good, Italian restaurant that is... and smell those delicious aromas as they make their way across the dining room... or I see a beautifully plated dish of gnocchi (or any other 'macaroni' for that matter). I think of those Fridays from long ago...cherished memories that always bring me close to home.

LONG LINE

A long line could stand for many different things. In the context of genealogy, an example might be an ancestor with many direct descendants or maybe a branch of the family tree that stayed in the same location for several generations. It could also mean that there was a long line at Ellis Island for admittance. My Great Uncle Leonardo Poppa fulfills examples of at least two of these scenarios...probably all three.

Leonardo was born on May 11, 1884, in Orsara di Puglia, Foggia, Italy, to Fedele and Elisabetta Poppa nee Branca. He would marry Teresa Rizzolli in 1903 in Orsara at the age of nineteen. 

Leonardo & Teresa Poppa nee Rizzolli

During the course of their 24 years of marriage, Leonardo and Teresa would have eight children:

Elisabetta born on July 5, 1904, in Orsara di Puglia, Foggia, Italy.

Michelina born on September 19, 1907, in Orsara di Puglia, Foggia, Italy.

Florence born on February 9, 1910, in Orsara di Puglia, Foggia, Italy.

Daniel born on April 26, 1913, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Lawrence born on December 2, 1914, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Grace born on June 19, 1919, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Leonardo "Nardo" born on May 2, 1921, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Fedele A "Fred" born on October 14, 1928, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Many Italian immigrants found their way to Pennsylvania in the hopes of finding work on the railroad. Leonardo by trade was a stone mason, and like his father and brother, Isidoro before him... set sail for America on May 11, 1909 on the SS Sant' Anna lured by the need for employment and the want of a better life for himself and his family. Leonardo arrived at the Port of New York on May 27, 1909, leaving behind his wife (pregnant with their 3rd child) and 2 small children back home in Orsara. According to the ship manifest, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was to be his final destination.  

SS Sant' Anna

On April 10, 1912, Teresa and by now...her 3 daughters, Elisabetta (age 8), Michelina (age 5) and 2 year old, Florence said goodbye to Orsara and boarded the SS Sant' Anna for the United States to join her husband. They would arrive on April 26, 1912 and according to the ship's passenger list, the nearest relative left in the country from whence they came was Teresa's mother, Maria Rizzolli. Upon their arrival in the U.S., Teresa and her daughters would go on to their final destination of New Rochelle, New York.  The ship manifest offers no clue as to why they were going there... who they were meeting... or where they would be staying upon arrival, but in my research...I discovered that Isidoro, his wife and 2 children were also in New Rochelle. Sadly, Isidoro's daughter Elizabeth was born and passed away in New Rochelle, New York around that time. 

Leonardo and his family moved once more in 1913. Between that time... and the end of 1914, the family increased in size by 2 sons, Daniel and Lawrence and would permanently settle in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Three more children were to follow between 1919 and 1928... Grace, Nardo and Fred. All 5 were born in Bridgeport. 

Leonardo's daughter, Elisabetta would marry Frank Sciarappa in 1919 and give birth to 5 children,  Michelina would marry Carissimo Candela about 1924 and give birth to 4 children. Florence would marry Anthony Carbone about 1931 and give birth to 1 son.  Daniel would marry Candida Antonelli in 1935 and they would have 1 daughter.  Lawrence would marry Florence Kiley in 1934 and they would have 6 children. Grace would marry Peter Darbisi about 1942 and would give birth to 3 children.  Nardo would marry Margaret Dinella in 1949. There were no children and regrettably, Nardo would predecease his father in 1953 at the age of 32. Fred married Frances Mikulka and they would go on to have 12 children during the course of their marriage.  

Leonardo died in 1956 at the age of 72, His wife Teresa, would follow 9 years later in 1965. They spent the majority of their married lives living in Bridgeport, Connecticut and with the exception of the first 12 years...lived in the same house on Ives Court, which would become the family homestead for the Connecticut branch of the Poppa family for four generations. The house, once lived in and owned by my great grandfather, Fedele would be passed down to Leonardo and then eventually... to his son, Fred. Leonardo's greatest legacy however, lives on in the long line of 32 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren. 

The Ives Court house  

FAVORITE PHOTO

If I had to choose just one photo as a favorite, I would have a difficult choice to make. There are several family pictures that always bring me back to a simpler time and flood my heart with sweet memories of people I loved then and still do. This particular photo always brings a smile to my face for many reasons, but mainly because it depicts two of my most favorite people in this world. It’s a 1949 picture of my sister, Natalie around the age of 3 with my dad in the backyard of the old family home on DeKalb Street in Chicago. She has such an impish grin on her little face...one I had seen often throughout the years. In my mind's eye, I imagine that her smile was an attempt to charm her way out of whatever mischief she was planning or had just accomplished. I’m sure none of this was lost on my dad, but the love in his heart for his little girl jumps out of the photo and is evident by the expression on his face. Just a guess...but I suspect that Natalie’s winning smile did the trick.  Love and miss them both.

Natalie & Dad - May 1949

FRESH START

My family is much like all the other immigrant families that migrated from Europe back in the late 1800s - early 1900s. They were looking for a better life...a fresh start.  On Mar 26, 1906, my great grandfather Fedele Poppa along with his 15-year-old son, Isidoro (my grandfather) boarded the SS Citta Di’ Genova from the port of Naples, Campania, Italy and embarked on an ocean voyage that would change the lives of their family forever.

Fedele Poppa

SS Citta Di' Genova

In 1906, America's economy was on the rise in large part due to immigrant labor, which helped to fuel industrial production. Southern Italy in that same year was primarily agricultural...less-developed and welfare-dependent with high unemployment. The ship's manifest for the Citta Di' Genova is difficult to read, but it looks like Fedele is listed as either a barber or a baker by trade. At the ripe old age of 15...Isidoro is listed as a tailor. Undoubtedly, none of these professions would be in high-demand given the economic circumstances faced by the southern half of Italy during that time.  Fedele was forced to decide whether to stay in Orsara di Puglia...the home that he loved and everything that he knew... for what was touted as the "Land of Opportunity," in order to secure the survival of his family that he loved even more.  The decision may not have been an easy one, but it was necessary and so, Fedele and young Isidoro, set sail for America, leaving behind his wife, Elisabetta Poppa nee Branca, daughters, Marietta (age 10) and Grazia (age 8) and his 4-year-old son, Agostino (August). His eldest son, Leonardo (age 22) was already married with a family of his own, but he would follow his father and younger brother to America in 1909.

Three weeks after the start of their trek across the Atlantic and with only twenty dollars in his pocket, Fedele and Isidoro arrived at Ellis Island on Apr 17, 1906. They would stay with Fedele's brother-in-law, Vincenzo Fiore (husband to Maria Branca) on Mulberry Street in lower Manhattan, commonly referred to as Manhattan's Little Italy.

Ellis Island

Mulberry Street  photo courtesy of the National Archives

While I haven't found evidence of multiple trips back home to Orsara, Fedele would make at least one more crossing in 1913 on the SS Venetia, to bring his wife and remaining children back with him to the United States.  They would eventually take up permanent residence in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The home they all shared on Ives Court is still there more than 100 years later.

Ives Court House

Isidoro would travel back to Italy two more times. He would marry Theresa DiFoggio in Orsara on Jul 18, 1910. He would then leave for the United States on Jan 6, 1911 on the SS Regina D'Italia. Arriving at Ellis Island on Jan 21st, Isidoro was held on a 2-day medical detainment. He would eventually be cleared, travel onward to Butler, Pennsylvania and like many Italian immigrants during that time...would find work on the railroad. Back in Italy, Theresa would give birth to their first child on Mar 19, 1911...a son named after Isidoro's father, Fedele. Isidoro would return to Italy for the last time and rejoin his wife and newborn son in late 1911. Isidoro, Theresa (now pregnant with their second child) and 2-year-old Fedele left Italy as a family on Jul 11, 1913 on the SS Sant' Anna. They arrived at Ellis Island on Jul 24th.Unfortunately, the couple would face the loss of their second child Elizabeth, who would pass away in New York within a few months after her birth later that year.

SS Regina D' Italia

SS Sant' Anna

Isidoro and Theresa would go on to have six more children in the United States: Antoinette (1914 in Bridgeport, CT), my father...Rocco (1916 in Bridgeport, CT), Leonard (1918 in Bridgeport, CT), Elizabeth (1920 in Chicago, IL), Agostino (1922 in Chicago, IL) and Mary (1923 in Bridgeport, CT). Sadly, baby Mary like her sister...would not survive infancy and she would pass on in 1924.  Before his passing on Aug 18, 1923, Isidoro, Theresa and their children would spend their time between Bridgeport, Connecticut and Chicago, Illinois surrounded by their large, warm and close-knit families.

L-R:  Augie, Beth, Ann, Fred, Grandma Theresa, Grandpa Isidoro, Rocky & Lenny Poppa 

ca: about 1925  (taken after Grandpa had already died. He was superimposed into the photo)

There are many people listed in this blog post that I wish I would have had the opportunity to get to know. This is especially true with regard to my grandfather. He was half my age when he passed away from tuberculosis and while he didn't have a long life...he had a meaningful one.  In a sense through my research...I feel like I got to know him a little... and that will have to do for now.

Isidoro Poppa

   

WHAT’S THIS ALL ABOUT?

I’m kind of an 'idea' person. I love coming up with a really good concept, formulating the perfect plan and of course, let us not forget...a catchy title or phrase. What happens to me more often than I care to admit and probably to almost everyone else... is that the really good concept, the perfect plan and the catchy title & phrases all end up on the back burner because life once again... got in the way.

My latest “idea” was to create a blog about an obsession of mine...genealogy.  Generally speaking, and more specifically...I wanted an online diary of my family tree which I have been working on since 2009.  My thinking was to keep a blog about my research efforts, discoveries and the profiles I would write about those individuals without whom I wouldn’t exist. However, like so many other good ideas...timing is everything.  Writing a blog isn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever attempted, especially when trying to hold down a full-time job and everything else that life throws your way. When you're a procrastinator by nature...it’s even harder.

Things have slowed down since my original game plan from a couple of years ago and so... one of my New Year’s Resolutions this year is to put pen to paper (or in my case, fingers to keyboard) and to just start writing...